There was no love lost as Sandbach secured a bonus point win in a Valentine’s Day mauling of Widnes. The Bach moved up to second place after a resounding eight-try rout on Saturday.

Sandbach had been left disappointed after a late penalty saw them lose to Firwood Waterloo at the end of January. They needed to put that defeat behind them and focus on securing the win against sixth placed Widnes and that’s precisely what they did.

The home side welcomed back their winger and spot-kicker Matt Randle, who had missed the last two games due to injury. Elsewhere, there were changes to the second row with Tom Holmes replacing Ryan Arundale, who moved to the bench. The match was also a celebration for Sandbach’s club captain Max Beadle, who was making his 100th appearance, becoming the club’s latest centurion.

Sandbach set the tone early on with plenty of direct ball play as they looked to make their intent known early on. Randle slotted an early penalty kick to give them the lead, but Widnes responded and levelled the scores after ten minutes.

The first try of the afternoon came from skipper Laurie Essenhigh, who was making his 101st Sandbach appearance. The scrum-half opened his scoring account with a try from the back of a scrum. Sandbach had a scrum penalty, which they dominated and charged forwards. Essenhigh picked up the ball close to the line and crossed over for the try.

Minutes later, Essenhigh was at it again. From a lineout, Sandbach’s powerful rolling maul stormed from Widnes’ 22m line to almost 5m out. Essenhigh got his hands on the ball and touched down once more.

Sandbach continued to dominate and were back once more in a scoring position with a lineout from 10m out. The ball went in field and the attack led with multiple phases, changing direction as they tried to edge further forwards. With penalty advantage, George Perkins slipped through to score from close range. Randle’s conversion moved the scores to 20-3.

Widnes hit back with a try of their own from centre Liam Lawton, however Sandbach countered with a try from fly-half Henry Mitchell, who found a gap to drift over for the score and to take the four-try scoring bonus point. The first half ended 27-10.

In the second half, Arundale came on for Holmes and Sandbach’s dominance continued. A rolling maul from a lineout in Widnes’ half pushed forwards almost unopposed. Sandbach were awarded a penalty, which Essenhigh took quickly. The scrum-half jinked through the flailing defence and forced his way over for his hat-trick. Randle kicked the extras and then added three more points minutes later from a penalty.

After a missed Sandbach penalty kick, Widnes had a 22m drop-out, which Arundale caught and steamed ahead. Then a break from centre Ben Verbickas took him towards the try line. He offloaded to winger Elliot Morris who was in support and five more points were scored. This was Morris’ third game back since picking up an injury and his first try since November, taking his try tally for the season to eleven. Randle’s conversion sailed through the posts.

Sandbach sat back for a period as Widnes enjoyed some possession. Despite a big defensive effort from the hosts, Widnes’ fly-half Liam McGovern slipped through for their second try of the day, but they were a long way off getting back into the game.

From the restart Widnes continued to attack, but a penalty for Sandbach in their twenty-two gave them possession. Morris went quickly and Verbickas kicked the ball up field and chased well. Widnes gathered close to their try line and a knock-on gave Sandbach a scrum from 5m out. After a scrum reset, the ball went out wide and Verbickas ran a fast line for his fourth try of the season.

In the final ten minutes there was attack and counterattack rugby from both teams and Sandbach continued to defend strongly. The final play of the day came from an interception on halfway by Sandbach’s replacement Rhys John. With no defenders left to beat, John ran in easily to score his first try of the season. The final whistle blew and Sandbach won 56-15, with the player of the match award going to Jack Seddon.

Sandbach’s focus will now turn to a week on Saturday and their away match against West Park (St Helens). With five league games remaining, the run in is now in a decisive phase. Playoff places and potentially more are still up for grabs, meaning every match and every point are crucial.

Match report by Rhys Fullerton

NEXT MATCH
West Park (St Helens) 1st XV Vs Sandbach 1st XV
Saturday 28th February
Red Rocks, St. Helens